winter's road salt

I havent been here in a while so happy holidays to all...now to the question...my truck is loaded with salt.. "blue" is now white..i have 2 not so great choices..the delta sonic car wash or the U wash it ? there is no way i can wash it in the driveway anytime soon. any suggestions? and what is the lowest temp outside i should do this..i was on my way home tonight and i saw someone at the u wash it and the temp was about 26 im thinking it is way too cold and his doors and stuff are gonna freeze

I'm not following your question to your salt problem, you have to make it clearer for it to be read. As for your general cleaning in cold weather. Not a problem with washing it in the freezing cold. Just make sure you use rubber gloves to not get frostbite during drying off your vehicle using the "Absorber". for your glass cleaning needs, use a glass cleaner that has alcohol in it due to it will not fog up in the cold due the alcohol content. Give that salt question a another try in basic terms.

ok...due to the fact we have about six feet of snow and the temp is at freezing..i cant wash the truck in the driveway..all the water will freeze and my driveway will be a sheet of ice...soooo its either the automatic Delta sonic car wash or the U wash it ( ya know the ones with the bays ya pull into and do it yourself with the high pressure water and brush) i know neither one is a good idea but which would be the lesser of 2 evils?

First of all, a fun fact than many are not aware of...If it is too cold for the salt to melt the snow on the roads, it is too cold for the salt to work it's evil on your car.

Secondly, there is a "miracle fluid" out there that many of you know about, and probably use already. Using this miracle stuff can greatly inhibit, if not totally prevent rust from forming in even the tiniest cracks and crevices in your car's body.

I can hear you screaming now: "WHAT IS THIS STUFF!!!" The miracle fluid is nothing other than WD-40. Every fall, I buy a gallon of it at Home Depot, and a spray bottle. I fill the bottle and soak EVERYTHING. Door jambs, trunk lids, engine compartment. I spray it inside the doors until it runs out the drain holes.

I spray the underside of the hood, and in the front of the hood where the inner and outer panels meet, and along the inner fender where water comes in from between the hood and fender, same with the trunk and the trunk drain channel. I even try to spray inside the fenders as best I can.

Wheel wells, door edges, inside the gas door, around mirrors, door handles and door locks. ANYWHERE salt water might go and cause rust.

I do this twice, once just before the snow (and salt flies), then again about halfway through the winter. The car does NOT have to be clean first, the dirt (and later in the winter, the salt itself) actually helps hold the WD-40 where it will do the most good. The WD-40 seems to actually neutralize any salt already there.

In the spring, I buy a gallon or two of either Simple Green or Castrol Tough Task. Then I soak everything with the cleaner and rinse all the salt/dirt/WD-40 out of the cracks & crevices. You may want to do this more than once to make sure you get all of the crud off of the car. My wife's 1996 Jeep has had this treatment done for the past 5 years, and looks new. I used to own a 1995 Neon with over 140,000 miles on it and there was no rust anywhere.

To answer a few questions I know will come up:

1) No, the WD-40 WILL NOT harm paint or electrical connections. It will actually help keep the electrical contacts from corroding & shorting out.

2) The once-a-year, heavy wash with strong cleaners like Simple Green or Castrol WILL NOT harm your car's finish. It WILL however remove all wax/wax residue from the car. BUT since you are reading this forum, odds are as soon as it gets nice outside, you will be polishing and waxing the car as soon as possible, so no big deal.

3) When doing the one-time heavy cleaning, you WILL be using LOTS of water, you can NEVER rinse too much.

That's all for now.

PS: Some of youthat have been on this board a while, might know me by my former screen name: NeonRdrunnr.



Don M
'02 Cavalier LSSC
2200 DOHC

I would only use the wash system that you do the washing with the wand type of system that squirts out the cleaning soap & soft water.

Being a former mid-westerner my self I used to take my vehicles down to the do-it-yourself wash. Removeing the salt can be done easily with the wand and brush. The salt will have to removed with scrubing action and lots of soap. Be careful washing in below freezing temps. Your locks will freeze as will as door handles. Your local auto parts store should carry a "lock thaw"...usually a small spray can.


The wd-40 sounds like it works good, my problem is the smell of the that stuff make me ill to my stomach. You need to read the label on that stuff also because it is not healthy to breath in.


I kinda miss the fun of driving in the snow if it were not for all the other cars on the road, haha.

Have fun and stay dry.

Denny,
TLC Mobile Detail

If it comes down to bringing it elsewhere to get washed, here are a few tips.

1) Don't bring it to the automatic car wash. The bristles on the brushes can damage the car at the speed they move at by scratching it and can leave a ding or dent. A friend of mine actually had a piece of his alloy wheel chipped off. Also, the soap they use is waxed based, so the car comes out shiny. Except that gets on the windows, and it streaks them up. Pain to get off. So in conclusion, auto car wash is too dangerous for the cars...haha. See if you can find a nice hand car wash nearby. ...Much better for the car.

2) Don't bring it to those do-it-yourself places. First, the power washer type hose they have sprays the water at extremely high PSIs, which can damage the car if you stand too close. Secondly, a lot of them used recycled water, so not only won't your car come out clean (dirty water), it can also scratch because the filter does not catch everything. In addition, there is always someone behind you who will yell and scream and tell you to hurry up. ...haha

My recommendation is to get a good coat of wax on it before winter, and watch for warm days to wash and wax in your driveway during winter. Im over in NJ, and it was actually warm enough to wash up to 3 weeks ago. I am fortuante I can bring mine to a heated garage and wash/wax it. So I never had any trouble.

Good luck.

Living in the Midwest I can tell you that Don, Toddco and Jay all offer some good advice. It can be really tough to wash your car in the winter months. I use the WD 40 and the do it yourself car washes. If you use Jay's advice and get a good coat of wax before winter, and Don's advice on the WD 40 you can spray your car at the do it yourself car washes like Toddco said and get by until the weather permits you to give it the once-over that it needs and deserves.

I don't care how much wax or WD-40 is on a car, when it gets salt on it it's down to the car wash. Leave the salt on long enough and your asking for problems.

Obviously Claudine feels the same way about having all that salt on her vehicle...get if off.

I washed my vehicles many times in below freezing temps. It's all part of living in those types of climates.

Sometimes temps. won't get above freezing for weeks so I disagree with Gary's advice.

I don't recall saying that she shouldn't wash the road salt off her car. I agree that it should be removed as early as possible. The wax is for protection and the wd40 will keep her doors and locks from freezing. The do-it-yourself car washes around here don't allow hand washing in their bays as a courtesy to others. That's why I said to use them until she can get a break in the weather to wash it at home by hand so her driveway won't turn into an ice skating rink.

Rumor has it they actually came out with another type of product that can be used instead of salt. However, it doesn't do any damage to the car. Not sure what the product is called. Anyone know?

It's not a rumor, it has a lower melting point than salt and I don't know what it is but I'll try to find out and get back to you on it. I have a friend that works for the highway dept. and I'll ask him the next time I see him. They have been using it here few a few years here.

I find it easier to use the do-it-yourself car wash in the winter to avoid the hassle of a hose. But, however, I do not use the brush. I use a wash mit and the soap from the brush or maybe a bucket and some Gold Class Soap. Then I hold the sprayer away from the car a bit to releive some of the pressure. Before I do any of the washing, I use the cheap tire degreaser and spray it on my tires and wipe them down with a sponge and clean the wheels at the same time. I all works pretty well. Then, because of the weather, I am usually the only idiot in cold weather to wash people's cars, I just go ahead and dry it off in the wash stall. It may not be the most professional way to do things but it works for me and it is safe.